๐Ÿš‚ THE PLATFORM

Halloween lands on a Saturday this year.

That's a full day of daylight before anybody puts on a costume, so we built you a morning that ends by 3.

Clocks fall back at 2 a.m. Sunday, which means Sunday gets dark before 6.

And early voting ends Sunday at 6 p.m., including the Parrish site at the fire station, 3804 N Rye Rd.

๐Ÿš— FAMILY FIELD TRIP

AI illustration of a suspended climbing-net tunnel between elevated wooden platforms, inspired by the Canopy Zone activity; not a photograph or exact depiction of Robinson Preserve.

AI-generated editorial image โ€” The Parrish Express

Treetops, fish on the dock, home for costumes

Start: Foxtail Coffee, Market Walk (in town).

Foxtail at Market Walk, 11687 Moccasin Wallow Rd, opens at 6 a.m. Saturday and has a drive-thru.

Coffee for the drivers.

Hold off on the ice cream. You're coming back here.

The activity: Robinson Preserve, northwest Bradenton (about 35 minutes).

Robinson Preserve is free, open sunrise to sunset, every day of the year.

Plug in the south entrance, 10299 9th Ave NW, not the main gate.

That's the side with the Canopy Zone, a rope-and-net play area built about 18 feet up in the trees, with slides.

It's also the only real shade out there.

The rest of Robinson is flat, open, coastal trail, so bring hats and more water than you think.

Restrooms are on site, plus observation towers and a kayak launch into three-plus miles of paddling trails.

Our take: don't try to see all of it.

Do the Canopy Zone and one tower, and be back in the car by noon.

Lunch: Star Fish Company, Cortez (about 10 minutes south).

Star Fish Company, 12306 46th Ave W, is a working fish market with a restaurant counter.

You order at the counter, the food comes in a to-go box, and you eat at a handful of tables looking out at the water.

Bring cash.

Last we read, it's cash only.

Hours aren't posted online, so call (941) 794-1243 before you leave Robinson.

Treat: back to Foxtail (about 40 minutes home).

Same Foxtail you started at, because it has a Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream counter and it's open till 9 Saturday.

Coffee on the way out, a scoop on the way home.

Treetops in the morning. Candy at dark.

๐Ÿ—“๏ธ THIS WEEKEND

AI illustration of a volunteer giving candy from a parked pickup tailgate to a child with a parent; not actual New Bethel attendees, grounds, or event footage.

AI-generated editorial image โ€” The Parrish Express

Both of these are Saturday night and they overlap, so pick one: stay in town or make the drive.

Saturday, 6:30โ€“9 p.m. โ€” Truck or Treat at New Bethel (in town)

New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church of Parrish, 11915 82nd St E.

The listing says bring your family and your friends.

No price posted.

It's the only trick-or-treat in Parrish we found on any calendar, and it's a five-minute drive for most of you.

Saturday, 6โ€“8 p.m. โ€” Trick-or-Treat in the Village of the Arts (about 30 minutes)

Trick-or-Treat in the Village of the Arts, 1227 12th Ave W, Bradenton, is free and in its 12th year.

The galleries, shops and neighbors in those little painted cottages hand out the candy.

One massage studio alone is bringing 1,000 pieces.

Park on the street or in the empty lot at 13th Ave W and 12th St W.

If your kids are walkers, this is the better trip.

The cottages do the decorating for you.

๐Ÿˆ THE SIDELINE

Illustrated vintage poster of an empty youth baseball field at golden hour

Illustration โ€” The Parrish Express

Little League filled up. Here's what still has room.

Buffalo Creek Little League's fall ball sold out with a waitlist, and spring sign-ups haven't posted yet.

Parrish is inside its boundary, Palmetto address and all.

Call (830) 556-1805 now so you hear about spring before it fills too.

i9 Sports takes everybody: no tryouts, no drafts, every kid plays every game.

Its fall season wraps Saturday, Nov. 7.

Winter dates and price aren't posted, so call 941-312-2400 before you budget for it.

County basketball: cheap, but bring gas money

Manatee County youth basketball is $90 a player, jersey included, ages 3 to 17.

Spring workouts start the first week of February.

Spring registration dates aren't posted yet.

The catch: games are at G.T. Bray and John Marble parks, with nothing in North County.

Questions go to 941-742-5923.

New to high school sports this winter? Ask about the heart screening now.

Florida's new ECG rule covers incoming 9th graders and any high schooler who hasn't played an FHSAA sport before.

The district's free screenings were in June and July, and none are on the calendar now.

Call your school's athletic department this week, not the week before tryouts.

๐Ÿฝ๏ธ WHERE TO EAT

Yan Kitchen, Fort Hamer Rd โ€” the Sunday answer

Yan Kitchen, 8731 Fort Hamer Rd, is an independent Chinese spot in town.

It's open Sunday, noon to 10, which matters this week.

The clocks change, it's dark before 6, and nobody wants to cook after a night of candy.

Online orders are pickup only, so order ahead and grab it.

The dishes people keep naming are the chicken pad thai, the chicken with spicy garlic sauce, and the dumplings.

Our take: get the dumplings for the table.

Then you'll know where you're ordering the next time it rains.

Closed Mondays, (941) 729-3999.

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๐Ÿ›๏ธ THE PARRISH TOWN SQUARE

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๐Ÿ‘‹ THE SEND-OFF

Check the candy before the kids do, and remember the parent tax is two Kit Kats.

Until next week โ€” stay gritty, stay healthy, and keep Parrish strong. โ€” Greg.